Allow me to start by apologizing.
Frankly, I think having too many articles about the price of gas (or the price of eggs, or any prices for that matter) constitutes nothing to the issue at hand, and the end result is nothing short of a website that sounds like a whining seven-year-old girl with a skinned knee. That being said, this is not an article about gas prices. This is an article about the American spirit.
In a fabulously mediocre article in The New Republic, Jonathon Lear “humorously” explains the rationale behind Sen. Hillary Clinton’s gas tax holiday. Basically, as he explains it, the concept of “us and them” used in her argument for a gas-tax holiday has only a few likely rationales behind it: Clinton is serious (and therefore, seriously crazy), she is not serious (and therefore, is attempting to legislate through fear), or she is simply living in a dream world (in which case, do you really want her to be your next president?).
For those of you who have not heard of this gas tax holiday: the basic idea from proponents of the plan, like Clinton, is that our country should not collect taxes on petrol-chemicals for a certain period of time, in order to stave off some the current financial strain people are facing due to rising gas prices. Opposition to this plan points out that gas taxes help to pay for the upkeep of the American infrastructure. Since we have enough trouble with bridges collapsing across the country, it may be in our best interest to shell out an extra couple of bucks to keep our roads, bridges, tunnels, etc. safe. There’s no sense in saving on gas if road conditions prohibit you from getting where you need to go in the first place.
But back to how this is not a post about gas prices: the true issue behind the idea of a gas tax holiday is the same issue that is behind the Federal Relief Fund that will be sending checks out to taxpaying Americans in the coming days and weeks. Reports show that mass transit rider-ship is on the rise, and food banks across the country are receiving more and more requests. Polls show that most people will either save the money from their relief checks, or use the money to pay off credit card bills. Our economy is suffering because of rising fuel costs, the exportation of jobs to foreign factories, continued military spending for the war in Iraq, etc…. but more importantly, it is American morale that is playing a major part in our economic troubles.
People are scared, and they are right to be.
That is why Clinton’s “us and them” rhetoric is so dangerous. Her attempt to appeal to scared citizens through the use of divisive, fear-mongering language is like something out of a bad, Cold-War inspired propaganda movie, where OPEC looks “red” while making a ton of green. What we need instead in this country is a hero, of sorts; no, not Barack Obama or John McCain. The hero we need is not a person, but rather the great, unifying American spirit that has been shown to overcome all odds, from secession to depression, communism to terrorism, and just about every challenge we have faced in between. All we need is the strength to come together, and the clarity of vision to recognize that it needs to happen soon.
About Sean J. Palmer
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